Islamic Misconceptions About the Call to Prayer (Adhaan)

Is the call to prayer (adhaan) correct?

Many Muslims hear the call to prayer (adhaan) and assume it is correct. However, the most widely used version of the call to prayer contains wording that not only seems irrelevant, but also possibly contradictory to the purpose of the call. According to Wikipedia, the Sunni call to prayer, for example, contains the wording “I acknowledge that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”

A couple of questions worth asking are:

  • If the caller to prayer (muezzin) is calling or telling people to pray to God, why is he (it’s always a male) saying that he acknowledges that Muhammad is the messenger of God?
  • In verse 72:18, God makes it clear that mosques (places of worship) are for God and that we must not invoke anyone with God. Verse 20:14 makes it clear that prayer is to remember God. Based on these two verses, is it even necessary or allowed to mention that Muhammad is a messenger of God? God has many messengers including Abraham and, according to 2:285, they should all be treated equally. Exclusively stating that Muhammad is the messenger of God would therefore violate 2:285.
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
And [He revealed] that the masjids are for God, so do not invoke with God anyone. (72:18)
إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
Indeed, I am God. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. (20:14)
لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ
We make no distinction between any of His messengers. (2:285)

Based on these issues, a more logical version of the call to prayer that also doesn’t violate the Quran would be as follows:

BeforeAfter
God is the greatest.God is the greatest.
I acknowledge that there is no god but God.There is no god but God.
I acknowledge that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
Hasten to prayer (Salah).
Hasten to success.
God is the greatest.
There is no god but God.

I didn’t mention the number of times each statement should be said since that is irrelevant. It could be twice, four times, or however many times one sees fit.

I also excluded the “Hasten to prayer” and “Hasted to success” statements since people already know that they should pray as soon as it’s time and that praying is one of many requirements for long-term success. Everyone knows that when the call to prayer is done, it is time to pray and that they should pray. The purpose of prayer is to worship God alone and the two statements in the proposed call to prayer clearly focus on that aspect.

Must the call to prayer be done in Arabic?

Many Muslims in non-Muslim countries believe that the call to prayer must be done in Arabic. However, there is no requirement in the Quran that it be done in Arabic. It is clear that the purpose of the call to prayer is to remind people that it’s time to pray so that they go and pray. If people don’t speak or understand Arabic, then an Arabic call to prayer becomes less useful. Although most non-Arabic-speaking people know that when they hear the call to prayer in Arabic that it’s time to pray, not understanding the meaning of the words uttered during the call would render it effectively no different than if someone blew a horn or rang a bell.

Must the call to prayer be done live or can it be prerecorded?

Many Muslims think that the call to prayer must be done live and that playing a prerecorded version of the call is invalid. However, there are no requirements in the Quran that it be done live. It is commonly known that the first person to perform the call to prayer was a man by the name of Bilal. It is also commonly known that he was chosen for having a good voice. Unfortunately, many callers to prayer (muezzins) do not have a good voice and to make matters worse, they use modern-day technology (loudspeakers) to blast their unpleasant voices all over town and sometimes right next to people’s living rooms. It is clear that God has given some people gifts over others, such as a nice voice. There are many people who have a nice voice and can perform the call to prayer such that it is generally more pleasant to listen to. These calls can be recorded and played either manually or automatically. It is clear that doing so has many benefits including motivating people to actually pray rather than cover their ears. While some people may argue that using modern-day technology by playing a recording invalidates the call, that argument would also invalidate all current methods of the call to prayer since they use loudspeakers which did not exist during the time of Muhammad. Regardless, there are no specific requirements in the Quran with regards to the call to prayer. Therefore, God has given us the freedom to perform it however best we can. Playing a recording of a pleasant-sounding call to prayer would clearly result in a better, consistent and more motivating experience for the target audience.

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Home Heating & Energy Costs

It’s January 9, 2023, and it’s cold here in California. Sure, it’s nothing compared to the freezing temperatures in other parts of the country, but still, it can get pretty chilly in the evening and early morning.

And as the temperature drops, my energy bill goes in the opposite direction.

On top of that, high inflation has made everything, including energy, even more expensive.

Despite having an energy-efficient gas furnace, using it to heat up a 1600-square-foot house still seems more expensive than it should be. Plus, even if heating the entire house was inexpensive, it seems wasteful since many parts of the house are not always actively used. Though I have a gas furnace, according to EnergySage, the average wattage of an electric furnace is 10,000 to 50,000 watts. For comparison, my space heater uses 1500 watts. That makes sense since it plugs into a 120V / 15A outlet, which can support a maximum of 1800 watts before tripping the circuit breaker. And for another comparison, I have an electric throw (62″ x 50″ Microplush Electric Throw Blanket Leopard/Black – Biddeford Blankets) that, according to the label, uses 130 watts. A king-size electric blanket will use up to 200 watts. Personally, I actually find the electric throw more comfortable than the space heater and central furnace when I’m stationary (watching a movie or sleeping).

Electric blanket130 – 200 watts
Space heater1500 – 1800 watts
Electric furnace10,000 to 50,000 watts

According to my PG&E bill, my electricity cost is

  • Off peak: $0.37460 / kWh (kilowatt hour)
  • Peak (4-9 PM): 0.39193 / kWh

Assuming I run a 200W electric blanket and an 1500W space heater for 3 hours a day during peak hours, I can find the cost for each using the formula:

W/1000*H*CPKWH

where

  • W = device watts
  • H = number of hours
  • CPKWH = cost per kWh (I’ll choose peak time)
DeviceMathCost/dayCost/month
Electric Blanket200/1000*3*0.39193$0.23$7
Space Heater1500/1000*3*0.39193$1.76$53

So, yeah, the electric blanket or throw is way cheaper!

Editing Home Improvement Videos

There are many different ways you can edit home improvement videos. Here are some:

Make a Video From Photos

This is pretty simple to do. You can just add a bunch of photos to the video track of your video editor, animate each photo (many video editors can do this automatically), add some music to the music/audio track, and render the video. The result can be pretty good but it doesn’t really give a sense of the amount of effort or process involved. Here’s an example clip.

Regular 1x Speed Video

If you have a short video, leaving the speed at normal 1x speed might be okay. But, if your video is long, people will get bored very quickly. Since most home improvement projects take longer than 30 seconds, I don’t recommend this option, unless you are maybe adding a voiceover that explains what you are doing in the video.

Fast Speed (Timelapse) Video

Another option is to just timelapse the entire video. Some home improvement projects can take all day. Many people, including myself, will just leave a camera somewhere that will take many still photos at a set interval to create a timelapse video. You can also record an entire day’s worth of video, which I’ve also done using a WyzeCam mounted on a wall. Timelapsing an entire video is as easy as speeding up the video clip. The downside is the audio is also sped up and often doesn’t sound good so you usually mute the audio and optionally add some background music. Here’s an example.

Mixed-Speed Video

Another option is to timelapse (speed up) certain parts of the video and leave the other parts at regular 1x speed. This is definitely more work but I personally find this better than just speeding up the entire video. However, I find the best effect is when the regular speed segments are ones that have a high volume, e.g. when you’re using a tool that makes a lot of noise (drilling, jackhammering, cutting, etc). Here’s an example.

I normally use Corel VideoStudio to edit videos but for this purpose, I find Shotcut to be easier to use. Shotcut, which is free, shows the waveform very clearly, runs faster and hasn’t crashed on me yet. The UI takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty simple to us. Here are the steps I follow in Shotcut to create this type of video:

  1. Open the original video in Shotcut
  2. Drag it from the player to the timeline
  3. Zoom in, if necessary, so that you can see the audio waveform
  4. Choose some or all segments where the waveform is high (high volume)
  5. Scrub the playhead until you find a segment where the waveform is high (high volume) and the segment is interesting to show at 1x speed
  6. Split the video at that playhead position.
  7. Move the playhead by where you want to end the segment. For 1x speed segments, I choose a duration of 1 second. You can advance the playhead by 1 second by going to “Player” > “Forward One Second”.
  8. Delete any segments you don’t want to keep (choose Ripple Delete to remove empty space as well)
  9. Click on a segment you want to speed up, click Properties, and change the speed. I choose 5x.
  10. Click the Export button, select “Timeline” in the From field, and click “Export File”.
I changed the speed of this segment to 5x.

Video Showing Only Selection of 1-second Segments

Another option is to create a video from a selection of 1-second segments. Some segments will probably have high volume, e.g. drilling, jackhammering, cutting, etc. , Others may not, e.g. lifting, cleaning, drawing lines, etc. Again, I find this much easier to do in Shotcut than in Corel VideoStudio. Here’s an example.

Here’s how I do it in Shotcut:

  1. Open the original video in Shotcut
  2. Drag it from the player to the timeline
  3. Zoom in, if necessary, so that you can see the audio waveform
  4. Scrub the playhead until you find an interesting segment
  5. Split the video at that position
  6. Move the playhead forward or backward by 1 second (“Player” > “Forward One Second” or “Backward One Second”.)
  7. Split the video again to create a one-second clip
  8. Repeat steps 4-7
  9. Delete all other segments (choose Ripple Delete to remove empty space as well)
  10. Click the Export button, select “Timeline” in the From field, and click “Export File”
I reduced this 3-minute long video to 3 seconds (each segment is 1-second long) where the volume was high.

Merging Clips

If you end up with a bunch of video clips that you want to merge and you don’t need to apply any transitions or effects, you can merge them almost instantly with LosslessCut.

Proof of Invisible Life: Human vs Car Analogy

The human body is very similar to a car. Following are some similarities between the human body and the car.

CarHuman
ECU (Electronic Control Unit)Brain
Engine and fuel pumpHeart
Air intakeNose and lungs
ExhaustAnus
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)Fingerprint 
WheelsLegs and hands
FuelFood
Fuel tankStomach
Ball jointsElbows and knees
HornMouth
Car diagnostic scanHuman vital signs/Medical scan
Car structural frameSkeletal system
Engine torqueStrength
Engine oil and other fluidsBlood and body fluids
Car chassisHuman spinal cord
Oil and fuel filtersKidneys
Shock absorbersCartilages and fat
Fuel and radiator fillerMouth to eat and drink
Windscreen wipersEyelashes
Headlight and windscreenEyes
Turbo and superchargersSteroids
TiresShoes

When a car stops working, whether due to lots of use (like old age in humans) or an accident (like humans getting injured in an accident), it can be fixed, e.g. by flushing and replacing dirty transmission fluid (like human blood dialysis), or a part can be replaced (like a human organ transplant). Like cars, the human body requires maintenance and can often be repaired. However, the fundamental difference between the two lies in their ability to be resuscitated after experiencing a catastrophic failure. With a car, you can wait forever and still be able to fix it. When a car is dead, e.g. if the engine is off, there’s always a way to bring the car back to life, whether by opening the engine to replace one small part or replacing the engine altogether. In contrast, once a human’s engine (heart) is off (the heart’s electrical system fails, which causes the heart to stop pumping blood), there’s only so much time before the person is completely dead. One must rush to try to restart the heart by either

  • CPR or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
  • Resuscitation with an automated external defibrillator (AED) device
  • Chest compressions

Time is of the essence. Usually, the person would be considered dead if there is no pulse within 5 minutes. Unlike a car engine, transplanting a perfect heart once someone is dead will not bring the person back to life. Therefore, something must have existed in the human other than the physical parts that gave it life. Some (most) people call this thing the “soul”. Whatever you want to call it, it seems then that this soul is an intangible and invisible form of life (to the human eyes, at least) that transcends the limitations of the material body.

Keto, Low-Calorie Fried Rice Using Riced Cauliflower

People may not realize this but traditional fried rice contains an enormous amount of calories from the rice. Fortunately, there’s a low-calorie alternative: cauliflower fried rice. It has only 10-20% as many calories as regular rice.

Where to buy

Trader Joes

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of riced cauliflower (~450 grams, 60 calories) (Costco sells a big bag of raw, frozen riced cauliflower)
  • 1 packet of fried rice seasoning. (I like Indofood Racik Bumbu Spesial Nasi Goreng seasoning paste)
  • Soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of water

Instructions

  • In a large pan or wok, add the oil and water.
  • When pan / wok is hot, put in the frozen riced cauliflower. Cook for 15 minutes.
  • Add the fried rice seasoning and mix.
  • If necessary, add some soy sauce to taste and mix.

When done, it should look more or less like this.

For added flavor and protein, add chicken meat and fried veggies like chopped carrots and onion.

If you want to add more flavor to your dish, consider adding

To cook, I prefer to use the LAMPCOOK automatic pot stirrer.

  1. Spray pot bottom and 1″ of the sides from the bottom with oil
  2. Add 1/4 cup of water to pot
  3. Add 1 packet of riced cauliflower
  4. Add 1 cup of frozen, pre-cooked fajitas (it’s a bit spicy)
  5. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes while letting the automatic pot stirrer stir for y
  6. Optionally, fry a patty of steak strips on the side
  7. When the riced cauliflower is done, optionally add the steak strips or other protein
  8. Add a sachet of Indofood Racik Bumbu Spesial Nasi Goreng seasoning paste
  9. Mix thoroughly
  10. Eat

Pictured without protein

Export Multiple Video Clips From a Single Clip Using Shotcut

Download Shotcut (free) and open it

  • Click the Editing mode (1)
  • Click “Open file” (2) and open a file (the video will play in the player)
  • Drag the video in the player (3) to the Timeline (4)
  • Make sure the “Source” or “Project” tab (5) is selected in the player
  • Move the playhead to the point where you want to start a clip
  • Click the Create/Edit Marker button (M)
  • Click the Split at Playhead button (S)
  • Repeat the above two steps to create as many clips as you want
  • Click on a clip in the timeline (6) (it gets outlined in red) and copy it (CTRL+C)
  • Open the playlist pane (7) and click the + button (8)
  • Repeat adding as many clips as you want to the timeline
  • Click the Export button (9) and choose “Each Playlist Item” in the From select menu
  • Enter a prefix for each video clip that will be exported

Set Up a PHP-based Website on Heroku

UPDATE: A better alternative to Heroku is Render. Your code repo is in GitHub and you don’t need to download any CLI like you do with Heroku. Render also supports static site generators like Netlify. Render is like Netlify + Heroku.

I’ve decided to move my PHP-based websites from GoDaddy shared hosting to Heroku (PaaS / Platform as a Service). Here are the steps I followed so if I need a quick reminder of how I did it, I can just look here. I decided not to go with IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) options like AWS, Azure, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform) because they are overkill for my needs, are more complicated, and, as a developer, I want to focus on development, not infrastructure.

1. Get PHP Locally

Download PHP. Since I’m on Windows, I downloaded the VS16 x64 Thread Safe (2022-Dec-06 16:15:24) Zip file. I then extracted it to C:\php-8.2.0-Win32-vs16-x64

2. Update Path

Add the PHP path to your system PATH or user environment variable.

Verify the updated Path environment variable is loaded by running the following command on the command line.

Get-ChildItem Env:Path | Format-Table -Wrap -AutoSize

If you see the PHP path in the output, then the updated Path environment variable has been loaded. If you don’t see it, then restart Explorer or your computer (there may be easier ways to load updated environment variables).

Test PHP by checking the version on the command line. Run the following command:

php -v

If you see the PHP version, then PHP is working.

3. Start a web server

PHP comes with a built-in web server. In your project folder, run the following command.

php -S localhost:8000

You can then open your PHP website in a browser at http://localhost:8000/.

4. Install PHP Composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. Even if you don’t need it, it’s required by Heroku. Heroku will know that your website runs PHP by detecting the presence of the file composer.json.

Since I’m on Windows, I’ll download and run Composer-Setup.exe. It will install the latest Composer version and set up your PATH so that you can call composer from any directory in your command line. Follow the instructions to install Composer. Then, verify it is loaded by running the following command to check its version.

composer -v

5. Add composer.json file

Create a file in the root of your project folder called composer.json. In my case, I don’t need any dependencies so I will just add {} to the file which is an empty JSON object. (In my case, I guess I didn’t really need to install composer since my composer.json file is empty).

6. Commit to git

This step assumes you have git installed. In my case, I will also commit my project to GitHub.

  1. Create a new repository in GitHub
    To avoid errors, do not initialize the new repository with README, license, or gitignore files. You can add these files after your project has been pushed to GitHub.
  2. Initialize the local directory as a git repo. Run git init -b main in our project folder. This will create a hidden .git folder.
  1. Add the files in your new local repository. This stages them for the first commit.
git add .
  1. Commit the files that you’ve staged in your local repository.
git commit -m "First commit"
  1. At the top of your repository on GitHub.com’s Quick Setup page, click to copy the remote repository URL. In the Command prompt, add the URL for the remote repository where your local repository will be pushed.
$ git remote add origin <REMOTE_URL> 
# Sets the new remote 
$ git remote -v 
# Verifies the new remote URL

5. Set tracking information for the main branch

git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main

6. Push changes to GitHub

git push origin main

7. Add gitignore file

Create a .gitignore file in the root of your project folder and add the following lines.

vendor/
.env

That way, when you commit files, you will not commit the .env file, if any, and any files in the vendor folder, if any.

8. Create a procfile

Create a file in the root of your project folder called Procfile. It should not have an extension. Add the following line to it.

web: vendor/bin/heroku-php-apache2

This will tell Heroku to set up a web server using Apache and PHP. If you want nginx instead of Apache, add the following line instead.

web: vendor/bin/heroku-php-nginx

9. Install Heroku CLI

The Heroku CLI (Command Line Interface) is necessary to push (publish) changes to your website to Heroku. Since I’m on Windows, I’ll download the Windows installer. The installer will add Heroku to the Path environment variable.

To load the updated environment variable, close all Explorer and command line / PowerShell windows. Reopen a command line / PowerShell and type enter the following

heroku login

A browser tab will open asking you to log in to Heroku CLI. Log in.

Once you’ve logged in you, you can close the browser tab and return to the command line.

The command line will get updated to show that you’ve logged in.

10. Deploy your website

Create an app on Heroku, which prepares Heroku to receive your source code. Run the following command.

heroku create

When you create an app, a git remote (called heroku) is also created and associated with your local git repository.

Heroku generates a random name (in this case sharp-rain-871) for your app, or you can pass a parameter to specify your own app name.

To deploy your website, run the following command.

git push heroku main

11. Run the app

Now that the website has been deployed, ensure that at least one instance of the app is running. Run the following command.

heroku ps:scale web=1

12. View the website

heroku open

The website will magically open in a browser.

13. Make changes

Whenever you make changes to the website, commit and push them to Heroku. To simplify deployments, you can tell Heroku to use GitHub instead of the Heroku CLI.

Elevate Your Writing & Self-Image With a Thesaurus or AI with ChatGPT

When most people write, they usually just use basic words. This is likely because people tend to write the same way their peers write and because their vocabulary may just be limited. Occasionally, however, you may read a note or email from someone and you suddenly perceive them in a different light. Their style of writing and choice of words may make you feel they are smarter than you, as much as you may wish not to admit that. If this happens in the workplace, you may even proceed with caution as you may feel that this person is at a higher level than you which can seem intimidating. Luckily, you don’t need to memorize a vast vocabulary or have a PhD just to sound smarter than others.

Synonyms

A simple thesaurus like the one included in Grammarly or a dedicated and powerful one like Power Thesaurus can elevate your writing and self-image at the click of a button. Consider the following basic words and some of their synonyms.

Basic WordSynonyms
make betterimprove, enhance, advance, bolster, strengthen, enrich
manynumerous, multitude, myriad, legion, abundant, copius, heaps, oodles, plethora
stupidabsurd, inane, moronic, farcical, imbecilic, ludicrous, daft, preposterous, lame
showdisplay, demonstrate, exhibit, reveal, manifest, depict, materialize
poorimpoverished, destitute, pathetic, poverty-stricken, pitiful, feeble, meager
walkstroll, hike, wander, trek, trudge, meander

As you can see, without looking at one’s resume (or LinkedIn profile), using more descriptive words can hint that the author is educated, intellectual, knowledgeable, cultured, and not someone to mess with 🙂 Now, I’m not suggesting that you specifically choose synonyms that are so rarely used that people need to look up their meaning. That would be annoying to readers and could backfire as people would know that you’re intentionally choosing rare words instead of trying to communicate clearly and effectively.

Compare the following sentences and see which ones sound more interesting and lend an air of sophistication.

  1. Sometimes, I come across a video that shows poor people in many places around the world.
  2. Occasionally, I’d chance upon a documentary that depicts extreme poverty in various locations around the globe.
  1. I can’t help but wonder why many of these countries don’t appear to be growing whereas others that used to be poor, like China and Singapore, have become rich in a relatively short period of time.
  2. I can’t help but ponder as to why many of these countries don’t appear to be advancing whilst others that used to be destitute, like China and Singapore, have become prosperous in a relatively short timeframe.

Adjectives

Another tip for making your writing more interesting is by using adjectives, especially adjectives that come before the words the describe. Compare the following phrases and see which ones sound better.

  1. This is not just another guidebook.
  2. This is not just another cliched guidebook.
  1. Manhattan is known for its skyscrapers.
  2. Manhattan is known for its gleaming skyscrapers.
  1. Jakarta is full of toll roads.
  2. Jakarta is full of imposing toll roads.
  1. Beijing is covered in pollution.
  2. Beijing is enveloped in a gigantic cloud of pollution.
  1. In the plane, we could smell the odor of durian.
  2. In the plane, we could smell the unmistakable odor of durian.
  1. He discussed issues related to city administration.
  2. He discussed civic issues.
  1. Our visit to Palm Springs was on a hot day.
  2. Our visit to Palm Springs was on a stiflingly hot day.

Analogies

Another technique is to use analogies. Compare the following.

  1. The auto rickshaw is a noisy 3-wheel vehicle.
  2. The auto rickshaw is a noisy 3-wheel vehicle. It is undoubtedly the cockroach of the automotive world.
  • The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
  • Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
  • McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
  • It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

Artificial Intelligence

I just started playing around with ChatGPT artificial intelligence. I tested it to rewrite the two first sentences above in a “better” way. Shockingly, it did an amazing job!

Process

To summarize the above into a step-by-step process, you can do the following:

  1. Write as you normally do
  2. ChatGPT: Use ChatGPT to improve your writing.
  3. Synonyms: If necessary, use a thesaurus to choose better words.
  4. Adjectives: Consider prefixing words with adjectives without being excessive.
  5. Analogies: If possible, add analogies, again, without being excessive.

Following are some tools for finding synonyms.

Power Thesaurus

This is my favorite because it’s super easy to use and offers probably the most synonyms than any alternative. Looking up definitions of a synonym can easily be done inline while browsing a list of synonyms. The website version looks like this.

Switching between your editing window and the Power Thesaurus window can be annoying and time-consuming. To remedy this, you can install the Power Thesaurus browser extension (this one is for Chrome). Clicking on a word will display an icon that, when clicked on, will trigger a tooltip-like overlay showing a few synonyms.

If you want even more synonyms and more features in the overlay, you can upgrade for $4 / month or $30 / year.

Grammarly

Grammarly has an online editing interface. You can edit your content directly in Grammarly’s website and while editing, you can double-click on a word to see an overlay of synonyms. There are not many synonyms which is why I prefer Power Thesaurus.

Beef Fried Rice Recipe

Ingredients

  • 400 grams of long grain rice (leftover from the day before or refrigerated for at least 2 hours)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup carrots, diced (can just chop pre-shredded carrots)
  • 3/4 cup red or yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 cup meat (chicken or beef, optional)
  • ¼ cup green onions, chopped into small pieces
  • To taste MSG, salt, pepper (MSG is actually not bad for you)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Make an omelette. Beat the eggs (I like to use a handheld electric mixer). Using a small pat of butter, make an omelette (I use a large pan for this). Slice the omelette into squares and set aside.

Cook the meat. I used ground beef. When done, set aside.

Sauté veggies. Using butter, sauté the onions, carrots, peas and garlic until soft and cooked through. (I use a wok for this)

Stir fry rice. Turn the burner to high heat. Scooch the veggies over to one side of the pan, melt the remaining butter in the other half, and add the chilled rice, soy sauce, and oyster sauce (if using). Then stir to combine with the veggies and continue sautéing the rice, stirring every 15-20 seconds or so for 3 minutes, or until you notice the rice and veggies starting to brown slightly.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in the green onions, sesame oil, sliced omelette, and meat.

Taste and season. Give the rice a taste, and season with MSG and pepper, plus any extra soy sauce or sesame oil, if needed.

Mixing 3 eggs
Chop some shredded carrots
Make an omelette
Slice the omelette
Ground beef

To break up the rice, use a food masher utensil.

You can also just buy one of these spice packets to make things simple.

I’ll try to make fried rice using each of these spice packets and rate each one.

RatingNote
No spice packet. Recipe above.7/10
Bamboe Nasi Goreng7/10
Bamboe Nasi Goreng Pedas7/10Too spicy
Kokita Nasi Goreng Fried Rice
Indofood Racik Bumbu Spesial Nasi Goreng8/10
Kikkoman Fried Rice5/10
Indofood Racik Bumbu Nasi Goreng
Pamana Seasoning Mix
Noh Chinese Fried Rice
Munik Fried Rice3.5/10
Nagatanien Fried Rice Mix
Pronas Bumbu Nasi Goreng6/10

LosslessCut: Join/Merge Multiple Video Clips Almost Instantly

Let’s say you have a bunch of video clips and you want to simply join them together without any fancy transitions or anything. The clips could be from a bunch of short videos you took on your phone, action cam, or maybe even your security camera. In my case, I had 2 Wyze cam security cameras that recorded 24/7 footage to an SD card. Each video clip was one-minute long grouped by folder indicating the hour of the day and then grouped by day of the year.

Your first thought might be to drag all video clips to a video editing tool like Adobe Premiere or Corel VideoStudio and render one combined video. I tried that using VideoStudio but it had to reencode all clips which took a long time. Also, the resulting file size was huge because the lowest encoding settings available were much higher than the source audio and video settings.

LosslessCut

LosslessCut describes itself as the swiss army knife of lossless video/audio editing.

 The main feature is lossless trimming and cutting of video and audio files, which is great for saving space by rough-cutting your large video files taken from a video camera, GoPro, drone, etc. It lets you quickly extract the good parts from your videos and discard many gigabytes of data without doing a slow re-encode and thereby losing quality. Or you can add a music or subtitle track to your video without needing to encode. Everything is extremely fast because it does an almost direct data copy.

Download LosslessCut

The thing I hate the most about video editing is how long it takes. I tried LosslessCut to join 60 video clips and it completed almost instantly. Drag the files to the window.

LosslessCut will allow you to sort the files. Just drag a file to the position where you want it to go. Check the “Include all streams?” checkbox and click “Merge!”

Missing Audio

In my case, I couldn’t use LosslessCut directly with the mp4 files from Wyze Cam. I would get this error.

I then converted each file to MOV and then I was able to merge each MOV file. But, when I imported the MOV file into Corel VideoStudio, there was no sound. This seems to be a common issue for many people. Apparently, the audio codec used by Wyze Cam is some unknown one. To remedy this, I first batch converted all video clips using HandBrake while keeping the audio and video quality almost the same. In the screenshot below, you can see the audio is being converted from “1 Unknown” to “160 kbps AAC).

After batch encoding all video clips, I was able to merge them instantly using LosslessCut.

Extract Audio From Video

ffmpeg -i input.mkv -map 0:a:0 -b:a 320k output.mp3

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